I’m looking to upgrade my monitor setup. I currently have 2 Dell 1080p monitors still running with DVI-D cables, and I’d love to upgrade to something HDMI. My GPU (MSI 970) only has 1 DVI port, but has 2 HDMI ports. These monitors also aren’t up to today’s standards as far as ms delay, etc. 1440p would be awesome; (simply for 144 FPS; these Dells are limited to 60 FPS), but I’m looking for something mid-range. Nothing top heavy (for money’s sake.) Here’s my current setup:

With my somewhat low-end GPU (I have trouble running Ultra on some modern games, anywhere from 25-40 frames for certain triple A titles), should I upgrade it before trying to go for dual 1440p monitors? Any suggestions or ideas would be very helpful. This idea is still fresh in my head and I haven’t really gone through and looked at details, so anything helps. Thanks Strats!

Yeah… High performance monitors and GPUs are generraly going with Display Port.

The big question here is “what kind of games do you usually play?”

If you play mostly games like Rocket League, MOBAs, CS:GO, etc. then you could probably get away with a 1440p 144hz given your GTX 970…

HOWEVER, if you were hoping to play games like Massdromeda, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Witcher 3, etc. at 1440p 144hz, your GPU just won’t have the power to capitalize on the high frame rate of the monitor.

With a GTX 970, I’d probably recommend a 24" 1080p 144Hz monitor… You’ll be able to get the full 144Hz with games like Rocket Leage, and be in the 70-90fps range in AAA games. I’d also recommend getting only one 144Hz, and the other 60Hz… No point in spending the $$ to get 144Hz on your second monitor when you can only game on one.

HDMI cable max is 60Hz. If you want higher then you need at least DVI, preferably DisplayPort.

Edit - And I don’t know that I would even consider a 970 to be somewhat low end. It is great for 1080p gaming. According to Steam, the 970 is the most popular card (with 960 and 750Ti following) and 1080p is the most popular resolution.

I recently got a high-refresh rate 1440p monitor, but largely run it in 1080p in games with my R9-290, which is somewhat underpowered otherwise. While I like the high refresh rate when I can get it, another nice thing is the VARIABLE refresh rate (AdaptiveSync on AMD, GSync on NVidia) to avoid screen tearing and other hitching artifacts. This helps keep the action smooth for a range of framerates. I really love it.

I just prefer the high FPS. Resolution is not a huge factor to me, I just wrongly assumed 1440p = 144Hz. Let me educate myself a little further and then I’ll make a decision. What brands have remarkably low response times (using ms) and what do you all recommend while having a lower price point.